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November 6, 2011
Corey Smith
Sherri Smith
4978 Klitzke Dr
Horace, NO 58047
Re: Comments on proposed Red River Diversion in Fargo-Moorhead
Dear US Army Corps of Engineers,
We are residents of Pleasant Township, Cass County, ND and have lived at our current residence for close to 14 years. We understand that long-term, permanent protection from flooding is needed for the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area. We, however, cannot support the current plan to use our home as the sacrificial lamb to increase the comfort level of the metro area without knowing where we stand relative to a potential buyout, land usage, and opportunities/costs related to whether or not we will be able to afford to continue the lifestyle we chose to live outside of the FM Metro Area in the 1st place. We
have built up our property so that we can withstand historic flooding. We are very concerned about the ability to relocate and find affordable acreage to match our current residential needs.
As we understand the plan, the diversion along with holding areas of water would inundate our property with 7 to 8 feet of water that we did not previously have to deal with. Life in our development has been challenging during past floods in our area, yet we have always survived. While we know that we are all in this together and some sacrifice is to be expected, it does not make the individual sacrifice any easier.
In total, three North Dakota communities and hundreds of homes will be erased from the map. I have hoped that the planners of this flood control project would come to realize that this sacrifice asked of the Comstock-Hickson communities, the surrounding townships of Holy Cross and Pleasant and the farms and homes on the 54,000 acres to be flooded is more than should be asked of anyone and that should the project move forward that those forced out of their “way of living” be justly compensated.
Please contact me at 701-238-1367 or wildthingsranch@yahoo.com with any questions.
Sincerely,
Sherri Smith
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